Vacuum mop



March 5, 1935. E, BENDER v 1,992,986 VACUUM MOP Filed Dec. 4, 1931 7 25 24 INVENTOR 33 [dz 104d 6? 56/74?! ATTORNEY Application Decemb PATENT. OFFICE VACUUM MOP Edward G. Bender, New York, N. Y.

3 Claims.

7 The purpose of this invention is to provide a mop for cleaning hard wood floors or smooth surfaces which may be used to a vacuum cleaner.

as an attachment The invention is a device embodying the combination mop with a vacuum cleaner wipes or cleans a surface and the mop.

Different machines mopping floors, comparatively large but these are in machines which may be of a mechanically or electrically operated in which the mop the cleaner cleans have been provided for the form of moved over a floor and which are adapted for commercial use only.

Mopping machines up to the present time have not been adapted for domestic use, for vacuum cleaners nor has any attachment been provided that may be used for mopping hard wood or other floors.

This invention, therefore, relates to a form of mop mounted on a frame which may rotate around the frame as it is moved over a floor or which may be rotated by drive wheels which may engage the floor or which may be rotated by the motor of a vacuum maybe attached, and as cleaner to which the frame the mop rotates, the

vacuum cleaner is in operation so that the vacuum thereof will draw dirt or the like, picked up by the mop, from the surface device is so designed the floor and one end of the mop. The

that it may be moved over may pass under furniture or the like so that an entire floor may readily be cleaned with very little effort. v

The object of the invention 18, therefore, to

provide an attachment which the cleaner may surfaces.

Another object of the clean for vacuum cleaners by floors or hard flat invention is to provide a mechanically operated mop which may be used for cleaning under comparatively large pieces of furniture.

Another object is to inga mop as it is used.

Another object is to provide ing a mop to a vacuum will clean a surface and the mop.

Another object is to provide provide means for cleanmeans for attachcleaner so that the mop cleaner clean the a mop in the form of a continuous belt with means for continuously cleaning the same as it is used. I

A further object is to provide a mop in the form of a continuous belt which may readily be attached to and removed from a vacuum cleaner.

And a still further object of the invention is to provide a mop adapted to be attached to and operated in conjunction with a vacuum cleaner which is of a simple and economical construc With these ends in .view the invention embodies a continuous band of any material adapted to mop and clean bare floors,

linoleums, or any er 4, 1931, Serial No. 578,917

knowngsmooth floor coverings or compositions,

in a wet or dry condition, operated by mechanical or electrical power, and usedin combination with any type of conventionally known vacuum or suction cleaners or sweepers in such a manner that thevcleaning action of said device, which end of the device around which the continuous mop passes, and with supporting wheels at the inner end.

F ure 2 is an 7 shownin Figure 1 with away.

Figure 3 is a view showing a side elevation of the device with part broken away substantially on the center thereof with a curved shoe shown at the outer 'endto replace the roller and with the-drive from the vacuum cleaner omitted.

Figure 4 is a view looking toward the under side of the device shown in Figure 3 with the lower half ofthe continuous mop broken away to clearly show the shape of the mop holding frame or shoe. In the drawing the device is shown as it would be madewherein-numeral 1 indicates the endless or continuous band, numeral 2 the head shaft, and numeral 3 the cleaner, sweeper, or other device.

The band 1 may be made of fabric, leather, canvas, 01' of anyother suitable material and may have heavy strands, of yarn or cotton or other loose material attached toit to form a heavy or thick nap, or-any material may be used that is adapted to function as a mop. Themop material is indicatedby thenumeral land may be attached to theband continuously or at points 5, or as may be desired. This material may also be formed integral with the band orprovided'in sections or units of any type and attached thereto. The .band may also be made continuous or the ends may be joined, as shown at the point 6, or the band may also be made in sections with the sections joined, as shown at the point 6. The band may alsobe made of chain, cords, or of any othersuitable material and the nap may beheld thereto in any other suitable manner. In the design shown in Figures 1 and 2, the band is mounted upon an inner roller '7, and an outer roller 8 both of which are rotatably mounted in a frame 9 with the inner roller mounted on the shaft 2 and the outer roller mounted upon a shaft 10. In this design the roller '7' may be rotated thru gears 11 and a shaft 12 which may extend downward from the operating mechanism of the cleaner to which the device may be attached so that it may be operated by the cleaner. The cleaner is provided with an attachment 13 having a downwardly extending neck 14 to which the device may be attached in any manner. In the design shown in Figures 1 and 2 the frame 9 is provided with however, it will be understood that the attachment in this design may also be held toth'eneck by the clamping means shown in Figure 3 in which the neck is held against a flange 16 .by a clip or clips 17 which are held by bolts 18 extending thru slotted holes 19 therein thereby bolting the clips to an upper plate 20 from which the flange 16 also extends.- It will also be understood that this device may be attached to the cleaner in any other'ma'nner or by any-other means.

' The neck 14 is attached 'to the device in such a manner that it is positioned directly above the mop so that it causes a suction to pass thru the mop and thereby draw material, picked up by the mop, upward into the cleaner. The plate 20 forms the upper part of a frame 21 and the frame is provided with a corresponding plate 22 positioned below the plate 20 and theplates 20 and 22 are'provided with openings 23 and 24' over which the neck 14 may be positioned thereby providing a direct passage for air thru the belt. The plates 20 and 22 are connected by side plates 25 and the plate 22 is connected to the frame 21 by posts 26 and 27 located in the center and on the lower edge of the frame 21 is a continuous flange 28 which extends outward to the outer end thereof and at the outer end is a curved flange 29, the width of which corresponds with that of the belt so that it forms a guide for the belt at theouter end of the frame. It will be understood that a similar guide may be formed at the inner end of the frame. However, it is preferred to provide a wheel or a plurality of horizontal rods 30 at the inner end of the frame and these rods may be mounted in discs 31 upon a head shaft 32 corresponding with the head shaft 2, as shown in Figure 2, and the ends of this shaft may be held in arms 33 extending from the side plates 25 of the frame.

It will also be understood that wheels 34 may also be mounted on the shaft 32 at the ends of the rods 30 and these wheels may engage the surface upon which the mop is used and the surfaces thereof may be roughened or provided with friction means to cause rotation thereof as they are moved over the floor. It will be understood that these wheels may be omitted and the mop may be moved by thefrictional engagement thereof with the fioor as the device is moved over the floor. It will also be understood that any other means may be used for providing rotating means for the mop. 7

It will be understood that other changes may be made in the construction without departing from the spirit of the invention. One of which changes may be in the useof a mop of any other description, as the length, width, or thickness thereof may be changed as desired, or the mop may be made of any other material or in any other form. Another change may be in the use of any other means for mounting and operating the mop, and still another may be in the use of any other means for cleaning the mop by the cleaner or sweeper. 1

a flange 15 to which the neck 14 may be welded or bolted or held by any means- The construction will be readily understood from the foregoing description. In use the device may be supplied as shown and when it is desired to clean bare fioors or the like the frame may be attached" to the nozzle of a vacuum or other cleaner or sweeper as shown and the mop moved back and forth across the floor or surface with the cleaner or sweeper running, and it will be noted that as the mop cleans the surface, the cleaner or sweeper will clean the mop. The mop maybe chemically or otherwise treated so that -dirt, dust, lint or other substances may be removed from a surface by it, and these substances will beheld by the mop until they are removed therefrom by the cleaner or sweeper and, therefore, the ordinary dust that is raised and suspended in the air while sweeping or cleaning will be eliminated. The mop may also be treated so that it will kill or destroy germs or bacteria or the like thereby eliminating the possibility of these germs or dirt being stored in closets as is true with ordinary mops which are not cleaned as they are used. The device also complies with city ordinances which forbid shaking mops out of windows. The mop may also be taken off and thoroughly washed after it has beenused a considerable length of time, or as desired. This device, therefore, provides a simple, sanitary, and efficient method of cleaning bare floors and fiat surfaces with the combination of a mop for clean ing the surface and a cleaner or sweeper for cleaning the mop as it is used.

Having thus fully described the invention, what Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: I

I 1. An attachment for vacuum cleaners comprising a frame having an upper and a lower surface with a longitudinal passage in the upper surface and a perpendicular opening thru said passage, a clamp adapted to secure thenozzle of a vacuum cleaner to the upper part of the frame and over said opening therethru, a continuous belt adapted to slidearound said frame and under said opening, said belt having material forming a mop on the outer surface thereof, wheels, at one end of said frame, and means rotating, said belt by said wheels as the frame is moved over a surface.

2. An attachment for suction. cleaners comprising a frame havingan upperand lower surface with a longitudinal passage in the upper surface and a perpendicular opening thru said passage, a continuous belt having an absorbent material on the outer surface thereof slidable on said frame and passing thru said passage, a clamp on said frame adapted to secure the frame to the nozzle of a suction cleaner in such a manner that the suction of the cleaner will pass thru the opening thru said passage, and means operating said belt.

3. An attachment for suction cleaners comprising a frame having an upper and lower surface with a longitudinal passagein the upper surface and a perpendicularopening thru said passage, a continuous belt having an absorbent material on the outer surface thereof slidable on said frame and passing thru saidpassage, a clamp on said frame adapted to secure the frame to the nozzle of a suction cleaner in such a manner that the suction of the cleaner will pass thru the opening thru said passage, wheels at one end of said frame, and means operating said belt by said wheels as the device is moved over a surface.

EDWARD G. BENDER. 

